Who is Aroh Barjatya? Indian-origin professor who led NASA mission during solar eclipse

A professor of Engineering Physics and Director of the Space and Atmospheric Instrumentation Lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), the Indian-origin Aroh Barjatya, spearheaded a recent NASA mission where the space agency launched three sounding rockets during the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

Notably, sounding rockets, the suborbital rockets designed to carry scientific experiments into the upper atmosphere of the Earth, are used for atmospheric studies. The mission rockets - Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) saw what effects the eclipse has on Earth's upper atmosphere. Led by Barjatya, the rockets lifted off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

After the launch of the sounding rockets, Barjatya posted, "What a spectacular day!!! #eclipse2024 It's been a long day since reporting to station at 6:30 am and wrapping up the launch party at 9:30 pm."

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Who is India-bornAroh Barjatya?

His father, Ashok Kumar Barjatya, is a chemical engineer and his mother, Rajeshwari, is a homemaker. Aroh pursued his education in India before moving to the United States in 2001. Aroh received his early education in Patalganga near Mumbai and later attended schools in Pilani, Jaipur, Solapur, and Hyderabad. He graduated with a degree in electronics engineering from the Walchand Institute of Technology in Solapur.

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After completing his master's in electrical and electronics engineering at Utah State University, he earned his PhDin spacecraft instrumentation from the Utah State University Research Foundation.

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With over 16 years of experience in space systems engineering and aerospace instrumentation research, Barjatya played an important role in the success of the mission. He has also spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives encompassing high-altitude balloons, CubeSats, space situational awareness, and embedded electronics.Aroh's sister, Apurva Barjatya, is a mechanical engineer.

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As per his LinkedIn profile, he also holds certifications from MIT School of Engineering in Architecture and Systems Engineering: Models and Methods to Manage Complex Systems, Quantitative Methods in Systems Engineering, Model-Based Systems Engineering: Documentation and Analysis, Models in Engineering, and Architecture of Complex Systems.

(With inputs from agencies)